US accuses Sudan’s RSF of genocide and sanctions its leader Mohamed Dagalo

The US has accused the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of killing people and imposing sanctions on its leader.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday said Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, is being punished for the brutality of the Sudanese people during the 20-month war.

He said the RSF and allied militias were responsible for the killing of “men and boys – even babies”, and sexual violence against women on ethnic grounds.

Terrorists have also targeted fleeing civilians and killed innocent civilians fleeing the conflict, Blinken said.

“Based on this information, I have now confirmed that members of the RSF and allied militias have killed people in Sudan,” he said.

In response, RSF accused the US of being ambivalent and failing to deal with the ongoing crisis.

“The decision … shows the failure of a [US President Joe] The Biden administration to deal with the crisis in Sudan and the two conditions that followed [with regards to the crisis],” Hemedti’s mentor, El-Basha Tbaeq, said in a post on his X account.

He added that this would complicate the Sudanese crisis and prevent negotiations to resolve the causes of the conflict.

The RSF has been fighting the Sudanese army since April 2023, and there have been many outcries over its conduct in the war.

The two groups have been accused of atrocities, and the conflict has led to a massive humanitarian crisis.

In May, the US special envoy to Sudan Tom Perriello said some estimates suggested that 150,000 people had been killed in the conflict.

Famine has been declared in several parts of the country, and 24.6 million people – almost half of the population – are in need of urgent aid, according to experts.

Mr. Blinken said that neither the RSF nor the Sudanese military should rule Sudan.

“All these fighters are responsible for the violence and suffering in Sudan and they have no right to govern a peaceful Sudan,” he said.

The sentence bars Hemedti and his immediate family from visiting the US, and any assets they own are frozen.

Seven RSF companies based in the United Arab Emirates and one other person are allowed to help the army acquire weapons.